Safety shoe and process of making the same



March 16, 1948. H. G. McMuRAY SAFETY SHOE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 27, 1947 March 16, 1948. H. G. MCMURR'AY 2,438,016

SAFETY SHOE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 27, 1947 lv wen'zar: i gz, 9 W 2/ atented Mar. 16, 1948 PROCESS OF MAKING SAME Harry G. McMurray, Wakefield, -Mass., assignor to Safety Box Toe Company, Holliston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 2'7, 1947, Serial No. 724,556

SAFETY SHOE AND THE Claims.

This invention comprises improvements in safety shoes which include a sheet steel box for protection of the toes of the wearer. In one aspect it comprises a novel process of manufacturing shoes by a series of steps which facilitate the shoemaking operations in general and lead to the production of a flexible welt shoe while eliminating the danger of breaking needles which has heretofore been a serious detriment. In another aspect the invention comprises the improved welt shoe herein shown as produced by the process of my invention.

The improved safety shoe of my invention is characterized b the employment of a toe plug which may be inserted as a flat piece of leather about the toe of the shoe and take the place of the welt in this location. In combination with the toe plug I employ two short pieces of welt which terminate approximately at the tip line of the shoe and make connection with the toe plug so as to provide a continuous extension with the plug to which the outsole may be subsequently sewn. This results in. a particularly strong and rugged construction for a safety work shoe. It preserves the flexibility of a, welt shoe, it eliminates breaking needles in sewing around the toe, and it also eliminates failure of the shoe due to rotting of the inseam by rust which forms on the steel box when the shoes are worn for any length of time in damp places.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred form of shoe in which the invention is embodied, together with a description of the process of its manufacture as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the complete shoe with a portion of the tip broken away,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shoe bottom,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an insole which may be used in the construction of the shoe,

Fig. 4 is a View in perspective of a steel box which may be used in the construction of the shoe,

Fig. 5 is a view of the box in section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a view of the insole in section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the shoe bottom at the conclusion of the toe lasting operation,

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the welt strips attached and the overlasted margin of the upper as roughened and cemented,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view in perspective show- 2 ing the steel box as assembled on the last in the p Fig. 10 is a view in perspective of the toe plug,

Fig. 11 is a plan View showing the toe plug in place in the shoe bottom, and

Fig. 12 is a view in longitudinal section through the toe portion of the finished shoe.

The insole I8 employed in the construction of the illustrated shoe as shown in Fig. 3 is chan neled and shouldered in the usual manner to provide a marginal feather II and an upstanding sewing rib I2, the latter being reinforced with a ply of canvas [3 which is cemented in face-toface contact to the body of the insole. In this instance the ribs and reinforcing ply terminate approximately at the tip line of the insole.

In manufacturing the shoe, the insole i0 is temporarily secured to the last bottom by tacks M, as suggested in Fig. '7, and the upper I5 is pulled over, side lasted and heel lasted in the usual manner. In these operations the overwiped margin of the upper is conformed to the rib [2 of the insole throughout the shank and forepart of the shoe and is tacked to the outer surface of the insole about the heel seat of the shoe.

At or about this stage of the shoemaking process, the steel box is assembled with the upper upon the toe of the last. The steel box, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, comprises a convex body portion l8 having the shape of the toe portion of the last and being provided with an inturned marginal flange and a flat tie bar H which extends transversely between the rear corners of the flange of the steel box. The operation of inserting the steel box is suggested in Fig. 9 where the toe portion of the upper is shown as turned back permitting the box It to be placed over the lining and upon the toe portion of the last. This may be accomplished easily by merely removing the pulling over tacks at the tip of the shoe. As soon as the box IE has been properly placed, the tip is turned back to its original position and the toe lasted. In this step the toe portion of the insole is first coated with cement I8 and the over-lasted margin completely tacked in position until the cement has set. This is the condition of the shoe bottom illustrated in Fig. 7.

The next step in the manufacturing process consists in stitching two short welt strips l9 and 20 to the ribs I2 of the insole. This is effected by the regular welt sewing operation which includes the margin of the upper. Thus the two strips, the margin of the upper, and the insole rib are all united from the heel breast line to sub 3 stantially the tip line, this being accomplished in a. welt sewing operation which is much more easily carried out than the usual welt sewing operation in that it does not oblige the operator to carry it about the curvature of the toe portion of the shoe. Having attached the two welt strips l9 and 20 in.the manner"explainedgibothiendsi of;' each welt'strip'are'beveled to a feather edge terminating in a common transverse line at each end of the shoe. effected by the commercial welt buttinggmachine. now available to all manufacturers of Walt shoes: When the cement has set which holds the overlasted margin of the upper about the to'e of the shoe, the lasting tacks may be removedi theup= per trimmed if necessary and roughened to re ceive a coating of cement upon:its exposed...-facer upon which the toe plug is to be cemented The toe plug 2!, as best shown in Fig. ;-ma'/ycomprise a horseshoe shaped piece of leather approximately iirons.incthiclrnesswbevelediat its rear ends to fit the beveled ends of the welt strips; l 9 and:zlLcand'aof. such contour ast'toasupplement the welt 'strips and; form: an" extension uniform with them about the'stoefportioneoflthet'shoer- In Fig. .11 ltheitoeiplugiz lwisshown" asr cemented in place in the -toe: portioniofrtlie. uppenwith it's: rearrbeveled ends making'afsplicedi beveled joint withlthe' forward. ends'sof therwelt Fstripss l QSa-nd-i 2mi- In' Fig.1 11.the"toe: plug 22.1 sis shown-askexw tendingw'slightly beyond ther contour'oii-the:welt strips: Thistisr notfinrthew'least objectionable since zth'e finalicontour: 'ofthe'shoe-is' determined. inzthe'roughzrounding. andztrimming eoperations efiectediraften the:.outsole istlaids. The apre'cise:

shape of "the-:toeplugis'zof itsecondaryeimportanceso long asr'it :is: of "sufiicient arearftofsupplement andicomplete :the 'usua'l 'welt contour oftheshoe in combination 1 with the' welt' strips.

The shOe bottom may now -be: filled withiany 40 plastic rcompositionr 22 eusually 'employedzin the manufacture." of: welt'r shoes. Subsequentlm-the outsole.23.:is laidiin- .thetusual: manner and rough roundedi together: with the welt strips and: the

toe plugrto impart" to thev sole,itsdesireclefi'nabv contour. The outsole may then be stitched in-the; regular manner; the outseamz24 as shown 'in Fig. 2,:passing: continuously about: thermargin :of? the. outsole 1 and": including: both weltw strips'rand the:

toe'iplug'll; Finally, the to'efportion ofrthe shoe isr reinforced' by.-aseries of loose nails 25-: driveri inranzarc extendingabout thertoeiportiomof the outsole "between the -endsi of rthe: welt Z'strip: and extending: through" the outsole 2' 23; the toeiplug 21- the. :overl'asted' margin of the. upper; and 1 the insole l 0: The :shoe Y may then abeccompletemby:

attaching; trimming; and finishingsthe heel-.2 6:.

In?makingq-a safetyr shoe-c by: the-.- 'stepss.-above outlined;' it. will :be seenfitha-t the: welt. sewing;

operation :is: terminated! at substantially-then tip' lineeof the shoeand. before thereis.- any; danger ofr'striking-the steeltoe box-:with the needle of the rwelt sewingr' machine; Thata-portionzofi the shoeebottom adjacent-to the steel box istfastened not only by thewoutseammhich :mam'possiblyiin This operation may be conveniently- 10 wear be impaired by rust from the box, but also by the loose nails 25 which constitute metallic fastenings that will outlast the shoe under the most severe conditions of wear.

Having thus disclosed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1'.The process of making-safety shoes, which includes the steps of inserting a steel toe box in the toe end of an upper while on the last, said uppenhavingbeveled welt strips terminating approximately 'at the tip line on both sides of the shoe, lapping the welt strips with a toe plug that projectsiieyond the contour of the toe box, stltching' an -outsole to the welt strips and toe plug,= "and*firially nailing the outsole about its toe/portion- 2. The process of making safety shoes, which includes the steps of inserting a steel toe box in the toe end of an upper while on a last carrying a ribbedinsole,- side lastingthe upper, sewing'a separate-welt strip to each side ofthe upper and insole rib, beveling the two welt'strips to a feather edge lying approximately in the tip line, attachinga flat toe plug to the shoe bottom in overlapping relation to the beveled-ends'of the welt strips-the said plug-extending beyondthe contour of the toe box, then stitching an outsole tothe-welt strips and toe plug, and finally nailingthe toe end of the outsole to the. insole by loose nails drivenin an are between the-ends of the welt strips.

3. Asafety shoe comprising aninsole provided with ribs terminating at the tip line, a welt strip includedv in the upper of the shoe, a horseshoe shaped toe plug supplementing the welt contour of"the.shoe and making a beveled connection with the welt strips, an outsole sewn to the welt strips-andtoe plug, and nails attaching the outsole and toe plug forward of the welt seam.

4. A safety shoe comprising a welt insole, an upper including a steel toe box, welt strips terminating at approximately the tip line of the shoe, a flat toe plug extending between the welt strips'and completing the general welt contour of the shoe, an outsole sewn to the welt strips and toe-plug, and metallic fastenings securing the -toe portion of the outsole in the shoe bottom.

5. A safety shoe comprising an insole provided with ribs terminating at the tip line, a welt strip sewn to each rib and beveled at its forward end in approximately the location of the tip line, a steel toe box enclosed in the upper of the shoe and" having an inturned marginal flange, a horseshoe shaped toe plug supplementing the welt contour of the shoe and substantially coextensiveiwith'the marginal flange of the steel toe box, the=ends ofsaid toe plug being formed'to provide beveled connections with the forward ends of the two welt strips; and'an outsole sewn to the welt strips and the toe plug by'a continuous line of stitching.

HARRY G. McMURRAY. 

